Wednesday, October 12, 2005

On my turntable: Pat Benatar - Precious Time

It's hard for me to listen to this record without picturing my friend Kim in her bedroom, blaring "Promises In The Dark", and singing into her curling iron. Precious Time (1981) is far from the greatest album ever made, but it is SO Fall of 1981! It was a huge record for Pat, who was all over MTV at the time (legend has it that Pat got played so much because MTV simply didn't have enough other videos to play!). When I hear this album I'm vividly reminded of myself as a scrawny little sophomore in high school, going out with new friends (some of whom are still with me), going to rock shows, drinking, and throwing toilet paper in peoples' trees. Ah, high school. I wouldn't ever want to live through it again - once was enough.

Kim and I saw Pat perform at The Cabooze in the late '90s. She and her band were great, although Pat snubbed Kim on her way out to the tour bus. Kim just stood there waiting with pen in hand, and Pat glides by. There weren't many of us out there waiting, but apparently Pat had done autographs before the show. So Kim tries to stop her as she zips past us: "HeytherePatI'mahugefancanIgetyourautog....(dumbfounded pause as Pat disappears into bus)...Whatever, Bitch! I thought the show sucked and I never liked your crappy music anyway. Screw you! I don't need your stinking autograph!" OK so I made up the stuff that Kim said, but it's fun to imagine that's how it happened.